Fate of the Museum
by SkulduggeryCain
Summary: Karakura's museum has long since been forgotten by the inhabitants of the city in which it stands. Only two people still remain caring about it - the curators, Blathers and Celeste. But when the human arrives, she too is interested. Is the museum saved?
1. Prologue: Museum Doom?

Hello guys!

This is my first Animal Crossing: City Folk/Let's Go To The City Fanfic!  
It has been entered in **Dougieowner's Fanfic Competition 2011 **on the website **Animal Crossing Community**!

Wish me luck! :L  
**~SkulduggeryCain~  
**  
[~Double-spaced for easier reading~]

* * *

Everything was quiet in Karakura.

All of the animals had long since gone to sleep, closing their curtains and switching off their lights at the usual time of 11pm. Their day had ended, but for one animal, his day had only just begun.

Blathers the owl shook his head wildly as he finally woke up after a full day of sleep. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and the thoughts from his head, fluffing out his feathers as he became fully conscious again. As the curator for the town museum he was in the lobby at all times, sleeping on his feet when his nocturnal instincts kicked in. His main job was to ensure that the visitors' questions were answered; his task was to tell people where to go if they were stuck and his role was to explain what the various displays throughout the museum showed to those who chose to look at them. He was very particular about efficiency and usually apologised to no end if he was discovered asleep during his shift. Although it wasn't exactly his fault that he was asleep on the job, he still didn't think it was acceptable to appear lazy. Being an owl, he was nocturnal and therefore was only fully awake at night. During the day, he drifted in and out of consciousness without staying in one state for too long. His sleeping pattern was clear, but it was hard to stick to it when he was supposed to have a day job. He often wished he could work at night; however seeing as that was when the villagers slept it was highly unlikely that anyone would visit the museum at that time. It was tough for the owl running such a huge section of the museum, but he just had to live with it. He had a job to do and he was going to do it, no matter what hardships he would have to face on the way.

Sometimes he regretted being nocturnal as it meant that while all of the villagers were awake and having fun he was asleep, dreaming away as he slept on his feet in the lobby of the museum. The only times he managed to talk with some of his friends was when they visited the museum, shaking him awake and shouting his name exasperatedly when he wouldn't stir. Eventually he would awake and they could chat, but these visits were rare and he was regularly alone. Nobody seemed to care for history much anymore – the museum was always empty and the only times people visited were when they had something to donate as an exhibit. Not that it made any difference what they gave.

Nobody was ever there to see it, after all.

At night, when he was fully awake and brimming with energy, the only company he had was his younger sister, Celeste. She was the astrologer for the Museum, meaning that she was in charge of making sure that the observatory was working at all times. Her job was to give the visitors to the museum a close up view of the stars which shone in the Karakura sky. However, like the main museum which Blathers was the curator of, nobody seemed to be interested in astrology anymore. The museum was almost abandoned. Nobody visited, nobody cared, nobody was even bothered about it. To them, it was a waste of space.

It made Blathers very sad to see this attitude in the villagers. Once, a few long years ago, everyone had loved the museum. There had been a regular stream of visitors; there had been lots of donations to the museum and a whole ton of interest in the exhibits which the white stone walls encased. It had been the single greatest attraction of the whole of Karakura, and now it had been reduced to this.

Now, it was nothing more than a nuisance.

Blathers and Celeste regularly talked about the fate of the museum. They feared that one day the museum would be taken out of their hands and destroyed, crippled beyond repair before their very eyes. The very thought of all of their hard work and dedication undone in a single second made them both weep, an intense sorrow entering their eyes and forcing the water within to be purged and released. They couldn't help but cry at the thought of their singular focus of attention and time stolen from them.

Alongside these thoughts, Blathers and Celeste still remained hopeful. Not all of their thoughts were negative. They still believed that there might be a way to save everything they had worked for and to promote it, make it even greater than it had previously been. Their positive thoughts ran on the basis of hope, recognition and wonderment. They knew that eventually somebody must realise how important the museum was to the town.

Surely something could be done to reinstate the interest of the villagers, they thought. Surely there was a way to avoid the complete destruction of something so magnificent? Surely there was a way for the people of Karakura to see what a great thing the museum was? Surely there must be someone – even if only one – person that believed in the museum and the history it preserved?

After many months Blathers and his sibling pondered over a possible solution. He knew that if the museum was to become a dear part of the lives of the villagers again he would have to work hard and prove just how valuable all of his work and effort had been in producing such a well-kept facility. He knew there must be a solution, but he couldn't work out what it was.

But, luckily for Blathers and his little sister, the answer to their prayers arrived the very next day. After several months of silent mourning and unspoken worry, a solution was finally about to come and make everything right again.

February 12th 2011 was when the human came to the town.


	2. 1: The Human's Friends, Museum Discovery

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**This is chapter one! **I hope you like it :)

~SkulduggeryCain~

* * *

The human had arrived on the 12th of February, 2011. She had long brown hair and piercing blue eyes, eyes which seemed to pass straight through anything their gaze passed over. She was intelligent, polite and with excellent behaviour; these were qualities which the animals of Karakura recognised in a worthy friend. After about a week of her living in Karakura she knew most of the animals very well.

One animal she became close to in particular was Lobo; one of the grumpiest, crankiest, most unsocial animals in the whole of the town. Although he was well-known for his moody temperament and his harsh comments, he was a good person to be around and he knew a lot about various things.

In the first week of her stay he taught her how to catch fish and bugs, a regular pastime which many villagers enjoyed. He explained to her about the fishing tourneys and the bug-offs, gave her the dates of all of the events and even showed her around the town. The other animals were quite amazed; they had never seen Lobo so friendly and helpful. Wolfgang in particular was surprised. He and Lobo were brothers, close brothers at that, and Wolfgang was usually never surprised at anything his sibling did. This however threw him off. So one day, while the girl and Lobo were out fishing, he picked up his rod and joined them by the sea. He took the opportunity to get to know the girl a bit better, to try and understand how his brother's attitude had changed. It wasn't hard to see. After a mere few minutes of talking with her, you could understand why anyone would want to be her friend. She was kind, helpful, smart, funny… and most of all, she was respectful. She understood things, didn't press people. Wolfgang just knew that he too would enjoy being her friend.

"So, George," Wolfgang began, addressing the human, for this was her name. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, thank you for asking," George smiled across at the wolf as he reeled in a catch. "How about you?"

"I'm also good," Wolfgang replied, grinning. "Just a bit surprised, you know. My brother has never been this social. I'm sure that you've already heard about his usual moody demeanour?"

"Yes, I'm fully aware of how he is supposed to be usually," George laughed. "I do find it rather strange, though. If he was really like that before, how come I've made such a difference?"

"You haven't."

George and Wolfgang both looked at Lobo, who was standing behind them with his arms folded. The two had almost forgotten that he was there, but now he had made them realise he was still with them.

"What do you mean?" Wolfgang's voice was steeped in confusion. "You were a moody old grouch before, and now that George is here, you've adopted a whole new attitude. How can you say that she hasn't made a difference when it's obvious that she has?"

"It wasn't her that changed me," Lobo narrowed his eyes. "I've always been like this. It's not that I wasn't social before – just that nobody bothered to talk to me."

George glanced at Wolfgang with a quizzical expression on her face. Her blue eyes scanned the older wolf's face, realising after a few seconds that he was just as confused as she was. He too didn't have a clue what Lobo was getting at, even though he had said it so matter-of-factly and with words which were easy to understand.

"So, are you trying to say that the only reason you were moody was because nobody ever spoke to you?" George blinked a few times. "But surely Wolfgang spoke to you, and you spoke to the others?"

"Yes, I spoke to them," Lobo reached up and pinched the bridge of his snout. "But they didn't really act all that friendly. I'm not really sure why. It's a two way thing, I guess. I'm moody, so people don't want to approach me. People don't approach or talk to me, and that's what makes me grumpy. George, because you didn't know me, you approached me and talked to me, so that made me happy instead of grouchy. I suppose I have you to thank after all. I mean, people are actually talking to me now, so…"

George smiled uncertainly. She didn't really understand just how much of a favour she had done for Lobo, however Wolfgang understood completely. A few seconds after Lobo had finished speaking he laughed, making both his younger brother and George jump. His loud barks echoed across the water, carrying far out to sea and in all directions before finally fading away to nothingness.

"So what you're basically saying is exactly what I originally thought!" Wolfgang shook his head exasperatedly, the hysterical tone still in his voice. "I said that it was down to George that you've become so cheery and helpful, but did you agree? Noooo!"

Wolfgang walked over to his sibling and ruffled his head fur. Lobo looked mildly amused by his brother's antics, yet also a bit annoyed with him for completing such an embarrassing gesture in front of his friend. George laughed as the two stood together, finding it very funny how the two were completely different yet behaved in almost the same way. She had only been in Karakura for a week but she already felt like she had known the two for years. One thing was for certain; she wasn't looking to leave Karakura any time soon.

Blathers was shaken awake by the coarse feathers of Celeste ruffling his own. She was gripping his wings tight and shaking him from side to side, shouting his name at the same time. Her voice suggested that she was greatly excited about something; however her rough man-handling also made him think that she wasn't in such a great mood.

"Will you wake up you dozy old fart!" Celeste complained, her tone containing a new edge as she became even more annoyed. "There are visitors in the museum! Visitors, I say! Now wake up!"

Blathers instantly became alert. He jolted upright, smoothed down the feathers which Celeste had creased and tried to make himself look approachable and helpful. After months of practice and longing, he did rather well at it. He definitely looked approachable. He almost looked helpful.

He also looked desperate, pale and really, really happy. These were the first visitors the museum had had within its walls for months. It was surprising to Blathers that someone had finally showed up after so long. After a moment he realised who it would probably be. Then again, it could be anyone. They might not even be visiting the museum, but rather the coffee shop downstairs.

It was Saturday, after all. KK. Slider visited on Saturday nights, jamming out his tunes for his animal fans which regularly showed up to his basement gigs. On this day, most of the animals would enter and instantly turn left for the downward staircase. They didn't even glance at any of the hallways into the exhibits.

While all of these thoughts ran through Blathers' head Celeste reappeared in the lobby. She was leading a group of three visitors, two males and one female. This threw Blathers' presumptions off completely. After a moment though, he realised that he should have known who would be visiting.

The newbie. The most recent arrival. The latest person to live in Karakura.

The visitors were none other than George, Lobo and Wolfgang.


	3. 2: George's Promise

**Chapter Three: George's Promise  
Hope you enjoy it!**

**~SkulduggeryCain~**

* * *

After an hour of fishing George returned home, leaving Lobo and Wolfgang still casting their lines by the sea. As soon as she had drawn near to her little cottage home she had dug out her house key, still experiencing the little bursts of excitement at the thought of living on her own. Until she had moved to Karakura, she had lived in the city with her parents and younger brother; a hyperactive nine-year old boy who obsessed over football. It was all he ever thought about.

As George entered her house and switched on the light, a pale yellow glow illuminated the room as she stepped into it. There wasn't much to look at in here, just an old stereo, a cardboard box, a lamp, a candle on top of an end table and a fish tank. The fish tank contained a goldfish; it had been her first catch in the village. Lobo had laughed when he watched her reel it in, but he hadn't said much about it. He had just requested that she should place it in her house when she got back as a memoir for their first fishing trip together. She had honoured his request, and now it sat in its bowl in the corner of the room. The goldfish had now retreated under the small rock in the centre of the bowl, the light of the lamp blinding the small fish as he swam around in the water. The bowl was set down beside the lamp, possible not the best place for it to go however George hadn't really thought about it. The fish had arrived before the lamp had, and she had had no initiative to move it from where she had originally placed it.

The lamp had been a gift from Tom Nook, a racoon who ran the local convenience store entitled 'Nook's Cranny.' He was slightly odd, but not a bad person in any way. He was helpful, polite and had lots of experience in his line of work. He often wandered around when his shop was visited and talked to the shoppers enthusiastically, adding an 'hmm' or a 'yes, yes' onto the end of his speech. George had learned that catchphrases were very popular in Karakura – most of the animals had one. Wolfgang's catchphrase had originally been 'snarrrl' but now George had changed it. She didn't know how. After talking to him for a while, he had said that he found his old one boring and uncool, and so had asked her to think up a new one for him to use as an alternative. She had thought about it for a while but had produced nothing, so in the end she just told him not to have one. This went down relatively well however he did still revert back sometimes. She guessed that it must just be a natural thing to say your catchphrase; almost like a default setting in mobile phones when you first buy them. She hadn't made one up for herself yet, and she didn't feel that she would, either. After the mini lecture she had received off of Tortimer, Karakura's mayor, about the fact that human inhabitants didn't usually have a catchphrase put her off by a mile.

After she had been at home for around half an hour she left her house again, locking the door swiftly behind her. For the first time she began to explore on her own, going past all of the buildings she so clearly recognised now; Tom Nook's Shop, Mable & Sable's Tailors, the Town Hall, Lobo's House, Wolfgang's House, the Town Gate… they were all so familiar and dear to her. And then she came across a new building, one that she hadn't seen before. It was tall and grand; the bricks were painted white, the doors wide open and inviting. It vaguely reminded her of a church but she instantly knew that it wasn't anything like one. It was too old, too worn, too… experienced.

George didn't know what to make of the strange building and so pulled out the Karakura Pocket Map she always kept on her person. After a quick glance at her location she knew what this building was. Quiet, eroded and experienced with age, the building she was stood before was none other than Blathers and Celeste's museum.

Karakura's lost attraction.

* * *

As soon as George had found out what the building was she had meandered off in search of Lobo. He wasn't too hard to find – he was still fishing on the beach with Wolfgang. As she approached the two turned, nodded their hellos and shouting their welcomes. She quickly rushed up to them and spoke her own greeting, returning their attention to fishing when there was a loud splash and a harsh tug on Lobo's line. With all three of them pulling on the rod they managed to pull the fish in – and what a fish it was! For it wasn't even a fish – but a shark instead! It floundered helplessly on the beach for a few minutes before Wolfgang's heart gave in and he picked it up and threw it back into the ocean. The shark had been so desperate for water that it hadn't even attempted to snap at the wolf as he manoeuvred his catch back into its natural habitat of the ocean.

As the shark's fin descended beneath the waves, George halted the two brothers before they could cast their lines out to sea again. She dug out her pocket map and opened it, smoothing out the creases and looking from Lobo to Wolfgang as she did so. They were clearly confused.

"What're you getting that out for?" Wolfgang enquired, his ears twitching. "You do know that me and Lobo have lived here for years; we know our way around!"

"And we showed you around, too," Lobo added questioningly. "What are you still carrying that thing around for?"

"I noticed a building you haven't shown me, one you didn't even tell me about," George replied flatly. "Here. The Town Museum."

She pointed fiercely with her finger, prodding the space on the map where the little picture of a coliseum stood with a key label as the museum. Instantly she saw the expressions of her friends change. They were almost close to laughing.

"Oh, that place?" Lobo grinned. "It's a load of rubbish. Nobody goes there anymore – all that's in there are some rotten old bones, some fish and some bugs. Nothing interesting, to say the very least."

"The only time when someone actually goes in there is Saturday night," Wolfgang added to what Lobo had said, a creepy-looking sneer frozen on his face. "Although, it's not the museum they go in for. It's K.K. Slider's gigs at Brewster's Roost Café. That place is downstairs though, nowhere near the bones and specimen things."

"What's wrong with the Museum? Who is K.K Slider? Who is Brewster?"

George's list of questions at this point was endless. There were so many things which she wanted to know however she managed to restrict herself to the most relevant and important.

"There's nothing wrong with the museum, as such... It's just that it bores people," Wolfgang carefully answered George's first question. "There's nothing interesting in there. Nobody visits because everyone knows about everything that's displayed anyway. The fish in the tanks we can catch ourselves, the bugs are the same. We can dig up fossils and assemble them ourselves at home, so what's the point in going there to just see all of the same stuff?"

"In answer to your other questions," Lobo interrupted his sibling and spoke quickly before George had a chance to say something in protest. It was clear that she wasn't agreeing with their views. "K.K. Slider is this awesome musician who plays gigs at the Roost on Saturday nights. He sings and plays guitar, a great combination in my opinion. All of the music which he plays has been written and conducted by him and he prides himself in being original and authentic. At the end of a performance he'll usually hand out a disk with the song he just performed on it, and all for free. He's a top-class dog."

"As for Brewster, he's the pigeon who serves you at the bar. He's very quiet until you get to know him, but when you do he's really chatty. While you sip his great blends you get to have a chat with him, too. If only all bartenders were like that..."

Lobo sighed and began winding his reel around his fishing rod, signalling that his fishing was over for the day. Wolfgang imitated his brother's movements, also winding his wire around the thin wooden pole. While George took in everything that had been said they took the opportunity to go and shake coconuts from the trees at the edge of the beach. Taking one each and one for George they sat on the sand, gazing out across the water with elements of amusement still flickering across their faces.

George hadn't moved an inch while they messed about behind her, throwing pieces of coconut at each other and laughing. Eventually it all sank in and she turned on her heel, striding over to the two wolves and dropping down in front of them. They eyed her warily, wondering what the new look of determination in her eyes meant.

"Well," George began slowly, "If every person in this town refuses to value the museum, I'm going to be the sore thumb of all of you. I love history, I love fishing and bug-hunting, I love coffee... I guess the museum is going to be my place to go. It sounds a lot better than you two have described it to me. Although, by the sound of it, it's a shame there's no art exhibit..."

"Actually, there is an art section," Lobo clamped his paw over his mouth as soon as he had said it, instantly regretting having spoken.

"I wouldn't call it an exhibit, though," Wolfgang snarled, shooting an annoyed glance across at his brother. "There are only a few genuine paintings in there, nothing much at all to look at. The rest of the paintings which the villagers tried to donate were all determined as forgeries by Blathers."

"Um, who is Blathers?" George asked fervently. She looked very sheepish as she could have sworn that she had heard that name before somewhere.

"Blathers is the curator of the museum. He's an owl and is constantly sleeping on his feet. It's not his fault, he's nocturnal after all, but his head always seems to jerk around while he sleeps. I don't know what ruffles his feathers, but I suspect it's the fact that he's always standing in the lobby in the light instead of a peaceful darker place. Sometimes I wonder why he doesn't just close the museum down," Wolfgang sighed. "It's a hopeless case, really. Nobody has visited that place for a few months now."

"Well then, it's about time someone did," George grinned for the first time in a few minutes. "You're welcome to join me, but I don't think you're that bothered. I'm off now, so I'll see you later."

"You're not seriously going to go into that dump?" Lobo sounded incredulous. "It's full of boring rubbish! I really don't see the point-"

"You might not, but I do!" George's fierce tone of voice caused the two wolves to shy away from her a little. They had never heard her sound so determined before. "See you two later."

She began to stride away from the two as they sat there on the sand, gazing after her as she strode quickly up the beach and through the coconut trees which bordered the white plain. As she was about to step onto the lush green grass which lay past the sand a paw grabbed her hand and pulled her back. She hadn't expected this and instantly fell back, her legs going out from underneath her as she was put off balance. Just as she was about to hit the floor a pair of strong forelegs caught her, hoisting her back up and onto her feet.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to pull you over like that," the voice of Lobo floated over to her as she stood with her eyes shut in front of him, his supporting arms still resting on her back. "Are you okay?"

George's eyes flicked open and a bemused expression landed on her face. Within a few moments she had whirled around to face her friend, glaring but failing to add the angered edge. Her eyes were soft and full of laughter, not hard and full of annoyance.

"You could have knocked me out or something!" she tried to sound serious but the intention just wasn't there. She was nearly laughing. "What were you trying to do, grabbing my hand like that?"

"Well, first I thought about pulling your hair, but then I thought that might actually hurt so I didn't bother," Lobo grinned evilly. "I didn't know you had so much momentum going when I reached for you hand, so I didn't know you'd nearly collapse on the ground in front of me!"

"Well that was certainly a sight," Wolfgang said, walking out from behind a tree. "And Lobo, never pull a girl's hair. Their slaps hurt, I can assure you." Wolfgang grimaced as if he was remembering a past experience. His face was full of recalled pain and his expression was hard to read.

"Hey!" Lobo exclaimed, finally stepping away from George and glaring at his older sibling. "I thought you said you weren't coming?"

"Yeah, well, I lied," Wolfgang said matter-of-factly. "You got a problem with me tagging along?"

"No, not at all."

"Good. Shall we go then?"

"Sure."

"Wait, go where?" It was George's voice this time, her head tilted to one side in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"We're coming with you to the museum," Lobo explained. "We're not letting you go there on your own! If you have to keel over from the sheer boringness we'll be there to laugh and point and shout about how right we were."

"You two are so full of yourselves!"

"Naturally."

George couldn't help but grin at Lobo's casual remark. No matter what he said, even if it was something deadly serious, it was the tone of his voice which caused her to snigger and laugh. He always said things in either a funny or a silly way, making her laugh to no end if the tone was heavily laden with sarcasm and exaggerated beyond the point of all seriousness. Within the week of knowing her Lobo had picked up on all her traits, all of her characteristics, everything which made her happy or sad. He knew exactly what to do to make her laugh and he always did it whether she liked it or not.

"So you two are coming with me to the museum?" George sighed, shaking her head sadly. "My peaceful trip is ruined..."

"Ha ha ha, you bet," Lobo grinned cheekily at her. "Let's go! To the boring museum!"

"Oh shut up," George sighed again, beginning to walk away and leading the three towards their goal.

_I will make people visit the museum again, no matter what it takes!_ George vowed silently as their journey to the white-washed brick building began.


End file.
